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Lectures

We offer nine lectures from October to June, and aim to cover a good range of interests, eg. Fine Art, Porcelain, Music, Theatre, Architecture, over the course of the year.Our speakers are drawn from the Arts Society Directory of accredited  lecturers, of whom there are more than 400 spread across the whole of the British Isles, with new names and new lectures being added every year.

‘Directory Day’ is held in London in March every year; it is attended by lecturers, programme secretaries and special interest day secretaries so they may meet each other, talk about the lectures and the lecturers can display their ‘wares’: newly accredited lecturers are able to have two minutes on the stage to introduce themselves and their specialist subjects and some established lecturers offering a new topic are also allowed one minute to introduce it to the audience. This process is controlled with strict discipline as the microphone is switched off if they go overtime!

The ‘on-line’ Directory contains additional information, such as contact details, as well as short clips of their stage appearance at Directory Day to give us a good overall impression; however this information is classified and available only to programme secretaries!

So how do we make our selection? By topic, by recommendation, by interesting title, by inviting back a previously excellent speaker; by all sorts of considerations we aim to provide an informative, interesting and entertaining series of lectures that are good value for all of our members.

Visits - What to expect

We organise a number of trips each year within a radius of around 30 miles of Cambridge. These involve a car or bus journey; we avoid coaches, and keep the cost down as much as possible. In addition, we plan a number of local visits within Cambridge, such as the Cripps Gallery at Magdalene College, the Fitzwilliam Museum, and the various University Museums and Colleges. Whenever possible, we offer private guided tours at every location.

Here’s what is already planned for next season:

  • October              Saffron Waldon Museum, Art Gallery and Garden
  • November           Bury St Edmunds Cathedral and Moyse Hall
  • March 2026        Cambridge Botanic Gardens – guided tour
  • April/May            Higgins Museum and Panacea Garden, Bedford

Tours - Organisation

We are eternally grateful to Mary Bligh for her many many years as our tour organiser. In the five years before COVID interrupted normal life, Mary organised tours to:

2015: Georgian Bath. Including Lacock Abbey, Wells, Holburne Museum, Great Chalfield Manor, Longford Castle, and Stourhead House and Gardens.

2016: Dresden, Jewel of Saxony. Incuding the Frauenkirche, Zwinger Palace, the Albertinum, the gardens of Pillnitz Palace, Meissen, and the vaults of Dresden's Royal Palace.

2017: The History and Heritage of Yorkshire, based in Harrogate.

2018: Art Treasures of Northern Italy. Including Verona, Mantua, Ferrara, Vicenza, Ravenna and Padua.

2019: Wiltshire and Dorset. Including Kingston Lacey, Salisbury, Mompesson House, Wilton House, Athelhampton House, Tolpuddle, Sherborne Castle and Sandford Orcas Manor House.

Tours started again in 2023 with a trip to The Netherlands, where we stayed in Den Haag and enjoyed visits to the Vermeer exhibition at rhe Rijksmuseum as well as walking tours of Den Haag, Delft, and Haarlem, the Royal Porcelain works in Delft, the Mauritshuis, and the Frans Hals museum.

In 2024 we spent five days in Yorkshire visiting the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Temple Newsam, Harewood House, Kirkstall Abbey, York Minster, the Merchant Adventirers' Hall, and Newstead Abbey. We also had guided walking tours of central Leeds and York, and some free time for people to pursue their own interests, including Yorvik, the Royal Armouries, the Van Gogh experience and Fairfax House. 

In October 2025 we are going to Sicily for a week, and we are considering trips to Kent and East Sussex in 2026 and Paris in 2027.  

Picture credit: Harewood House Trust and Lee Beel

Special Interest Days

Special Interest Days are currently suspended.

For some time they have been poorly attended and we can not justify spending the Society's money on events which do not currently appear to appeal to our members. 

If there is a resurgence of interest - in the form of a request from a significant number of members - we will, of course, reinstate them. 

Lectures

We offer nine lectures from October to June, and aim to cover a good range of interests, eg. Fine Art, Porcelain, Music, Theatre, Architecture, over the course of the year.Our speakers are drawn from the Arts Society Directory of accredited  lecturers, of whom there are more than 400 spread across the whole of the British Isles, with new names and new lectures being added every year.

‘Directory Day’ is held in London in March every year; it is attended by lecturers, programme secretaries and special interest day secretaries so they may meet each other, talk about the lectures and the lecturers can display their ‘wares’: newly accredited lecturers are able to have two minutes on the stage to introduce themselves and their specialist subjects and some established lecturers offering a new topic are also allowed one minute to introduce it to the audience. This process is controlled with strict discipline as the microphone is switched off if they go overtime!

The ‘on-line’ Directory contains additional information, such as contact details, as well as short clips of their stage appearance at Directory Day to give us a good overall impression; however this information is classified and available only to programme secretaries!

So how do we make our selection? By topic, by recommendation, by interesting title, by inviting back a previously excellent speaker; by all sorts of considerations we aim to provide an informative, interesting and entertaining series of lectures that are good value for all of our members.

Visits - What to expect

We organise a number of trips each year within a radius of around 30 miles of Cambridge. These involve a car or bus journey; we avoid coaches, and keep the cost down as much as possible. In addition, we plan a number of local visits within Cambridge, such as the Cripps Gallery at Magdalene College, the Fitzwilliam Museum, and the various University Museums and Colleges. Whenever possible, we offer private guided tours at every location.

Here’s what is already planned for next season:

  • October              Saffron Waldon Museum, Art Gallery and Garden
  • November           Bury St Edmunds Cathedral and Moyse Hall
  • March 2026        Cambridge Botanic Gardens – guided tour
  • April/May            Higgins Museum and Panacea Garden, Bedford

Tours - Organisation

We are eternally grateful to Mary Bligh for her many many years as our tour organiser. In the five years before COVID interrupted normal life, Mary organised tours to:

2015: Georgian Bath. Including Lacock Abbey, Wells, Holburne Museum, Great Chalfield Manor, Longford Castle, and Stourhead House and Gardens.

2016: Dresden, Jewel of Saxony. Incuding the Frauenkirche, Zwinger Palace, the Albertinum, the gardens of Pillnitz Palace, Meissen, and the vaults of Dresden's Royal Palace.

2017: The History and Heritage of Yorkshire, based in Harrogate.

2018: Art Treasures of Northern Italy. Including Verona, Mantua, Ferrara, Vicenza, Ravenna and Padua.

2019: Wiltshire and Dorset. Including Kingston Lacey, Salisbury, Mompesson House, Wilton House, Athelhampton House, Tolpuddle, Sherborne Castle and Sandford Orcas Manor House.

Tours started again in 2023 with a trip to The Netherlands, where we stayed in Den Haag and enjoyed visits to the Vermeer exhibition at rhe Rijksmuseum as well as walking tours of Den Haag, Delft, and Haarlem, the Royal Porcelain works in Delft, the Mauritshuis, and the Frans Hals museum.

In 2024 we spent five days in Yorkshire visiting the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Temple Newsam, Harewood House, Kirkstall Abbey, York Minster, the Merchant Adventirers' Hall, and Newstead Abbey. We also had guided walking tours of central Leeds and York, and some free time for people to pursue their own interests, including Yorvik, the Royal Armouries, the Van Gogh experience and Fairfax House. 

In October 2025 we are going to Sicily for a week, and we are considering trips to Kent and East Sussex in 2026 and Paris in 2027.  

Picture credit: Harewood House Trust and Lee Beel

Special Interest Days

Special Interest Days are currently suspended.

For some time they have been poorly attended and we can not justify spending the Society's money on events which do not currently appear to appeal to our members. 

If there is a resurgence of interest - in the form of a request from a significant number of members - we will, of course, reinstate them.